अफ़ग़ानिस्तान

Tim Murtagh to M Shahzad, OUT! The ball has carried and Shehzad goes cheaply! Full and around middle, Shahzad looked to go over the top once again, aiming mid on. But he was a touch early into the shot and the ball went off the leading edge. Dipped onto mid off where James Cameron Dow came running in to his right and seemed to take it. Numerous angles are seen with every angle seeming to indicate that the ball has gone cleanly into the hands. Eventually, OUT is flashed on the giant screen.

A McBrine to J Ahmadi, OUT! BOWLED! There comes the second breakthrough! Beautiful bowling. Classical off break outside off, Ahmadi reaches out to drive but the ball spins in, has plenty of drift, goes through the gate and hits the stumps! Cannot blame the batsman too much for that. There was this one game in the Indian Premier League in 2018 when Mujeeb Ur Rahman cleaned up Virat Kohli in that fashion. Terrific bowling.

G Dockrell to R Shah, OUT! Gone next ball! Short and outside off, Rahmat looks to cut but the ball gets big on him, takes the top edge and lobs straight to point! Another poor outing for Shah and Afghanistan's top order continues to be questionable.

G Dockrell to S Shinwari, OUT! Caught! Another one bites the dust. A tempting flighted delivery outside off, Shinwari plays a loose shot, driving away from his body on his very first ball, straight into the hands of extra cover. McBrine takes a easy catch. Another bad day for the Afghan top order.

S Singh to M Nabi, OUT! Caught behind! A well-built partnership has been broken. A quicker one pitched short of length outside off, Nabi was looking for a back foot drive but the ball kisses the edge of the bat and Poynter takes a well-judged catch. It was a well thought out delivery, pitching on the dry patch on the wicket, helping the ball to get a little turn and it skids on. Half the side back in the hut now.

Cameron Dow to N Zadran, OUT! Excellent catch! Ireland keep picking up wickets. Najibullah departs now. Outside off, Zadran goes back to punch it through the off side but the ball stays low, takes the inside edge and goes to the keeper who displays yet another excellent display of his skills. Can Ireland finish it off now?

आयरलैंड

Z Khan to W Porterfield, OUT! BOWLED! MAIDEN INTERNATIONAL WICKET FOR ZAHIR! This is some ball to begin your international career. The wrong 'un, outside off, SORRY. Well outside off. Porterfield comes half forward to defend but the ball spins back in a long way, beats the inside edge and knocks the off stump back! Porterfield has no idea where that came from. The umpires check upstairs for the no ball but replays deem the debutant fine. The 57-run opening stand is broken and Ireland need another 160 to win from 222 balls.

R Khan to P Stirling, OUT! LBW! Oh dear... Stirling does not look happy at all. He has been adjudged LBW. We say adjudged because we think he might have been hard done by. Tossed up around off, Paul made the big mistake of playing this from the crease. Got squared up by the away turn and missed the ball, getting hit on the pads. To the naked eye itself, that looks high but the umpire raises his finger, giving in to the vociferous LBW appeals. Replays confirm that the impact itself was outside off and with the ball turning away... Well, well, well. Do Afghanistan have that door open? Ireland still need 79 from 116 balls. The 81-run stand has been broken.

Andy Balbirnieb Mujeeb Ur रहमान68914074.73

45.6

Ur Rahman to A Balbirnie, OUT! BOWLED! Right through the gap. Landed outside off, Balbirnie stays back to defend but the ball lands on that rough patch outside off, spins back in, goes right through the gap between bat and pad and hits the timber! Andy is disappointed with himself that he could not finish it off. But just 10 more needed now. Mujeeb finishes with figures of 10-2-26-1, a decent effort again.

Z Khan to S Singh, OUT! Plumb LBW! The change of angle does the trick for Zahir. He had been bowling over the wicket all this while and the first ball he switches the angle, pays him rich dividends. The googly, spinning in slightly, but skidding on mostly, Simi goes back in his crease to work it to the leg side but misses. He is squared up, as he expects the ball to turn away and is hit on the pads. Looks plumb when he is hit on the pads and the umpire agrees. 56 more needed. 7 wickets in hand. 82 balls remaining...

M Nabi to G Dockrell, OUT! BOWLED! Nabi gets a wicket too. Full and outside off, Dockrell initially looks to sweep but then decides to change his shot on seeing the length. Attempts the late guide through third man but misses it totally. The ball spins in and hits the stumps.